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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27673171">Forever's gonna start tonight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie'>PerriewinkleNerdie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Open Heart (Visual Novels)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Mild Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:54:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,366</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27673171</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ethan and Claire elope.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Forever's gonna start tonight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi guys! How are you doing? Long time no see, huh? (I say that as though I haven't taken a 3 month break before). I started binging on medical articles (not exactly by choice, even tho it's hella interesting) and Grey's Anatomy (*absolutely* by choice, I stan Jackson and April, Mark and Lexie and Meredith and Derek forever. And Arizona. And Jo. These two are gold). That could only mean one thing, and that is that I couldn't get it out of my head. Here we are, my two idiots decide to get married in secret. I certainly didn't see it coming, idk about you :D<br/>Do yourself a favor, give 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Sleeping At Last a listen. You won't regret it, I promise.<br/>Enjoy! &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ethan and Claire stood side by side silently, watching the scene in front of them unfold. It was so ridiculously cliché that she could swear the whole thing was scripted by some telenovela writer.</p>
<p>Their patient, a 32-year-old woman, has been admitted to the hospital three days ago. Her fiancé hasn’t left her side for more than an hour at the time. It all seemed like a perfect love story with a happy ending impending.</p>
<p>And that is when a third person was added to the equation. Precisely during the hour the fiancé was gone, a man came to visit her. Claire was walking past her patient’s room when she noticed a new person inside. With an intrigued gaze, she stood by and watched the scene progress with her arms folded across her chest.</p>
<p>Ethan noticed her staring and hesitated. His own fiancé was so close to him that he could just walk over and take her hand in his, but their fight put an invisible wall between them.</p>
<p>They didn’t fight often, and when they did, it usually wasn’t something that pulled them away from each other for long. The same could be said for this time; it’s been two days and they still barely talked to one another, save for their work encounters and sparse conversations at home.</p>
<p>With a heavy sigh, he walked over to her and stood next to her, glancing inside the room. Claire hummed softly to acknowledge his presence. Their arms touched slightly, a fraction of warmth being exchanged between them.</p>
<p>“What’s going on?” Ethan asked quietly, not quite understanding the situation. Claire shrugged.</p>
<p>“My guess is as good as yours. Her fiancé went home, and this man appeared out of nowhere. They’ve been talking, but I have no idea what’s going on.”</p>
<p>It was at this precise moment that it became a bit clearer what was going on. Their patient started crying, a bright smile lighting up her face. The man walked over to her in great hurry, muttering something that Claire couldn’t decipher.</p>
<p>“He’s saying ‘I love you.” Ethan mused softly, turning away from the two people in the room to look at Claire. He didn’t want to fight anymore, he was losing sleep because he got so used to sleeping with her in his arms. Their eyes met, locked in a stare filled to the brim with longing.</p>
<p>Upon the next look at the couple inside the room, they discovered a new development in the situation. Their lips were pressed urgently together, hands pulling the other impossibly closer. Claire was so surprised, she had to blink a couple of times to make sure she wasn’t just seeing things. She turned to Ethan, wanting him to confirm her vision.</p>
<p>“Do you-“</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“Are they-“</p>
<p>“They sure are.”</p>
<p>Ethan’s voice was certain, but the tone he used indicated the understanding on his part. He couldn’t possibly know what the situation was exactly, but if he had to guess, the man lost their patient a long time ago, and now, he got her back. Ethan knew that feeling all too well, with how his relationship with his fiancé looked, so no matter what anyone else might think, he completely understood.</p>
<p>Claire leaned against Ethan slightly, extending an olive branch. It wasn’t the end of their fight, but the anger was gone. All she wanted was to have him back, entirely and fully.</p>
<p>Before she could say anything, the fiancé was back. And needless to say, he wasn’t happy to discover his future wife in the arms of another man. The pair of doctors expected anger, shouts, tears and explanations. There was none of that. Instead, there was a solemn nod, accompanied by an endless sea of sadness and, at last, acceptance. Claire couldn’t read lips to save her life, but Ethan, as with everything, was pretty good at it to say the least.</p>
<p>“He said that he saw it coming.” He muttered, straining his eyes to catch the words. “That he knew about their history but hoped he could be enough for her.”</p>
<p>“That’s so sad.” Claire muttered, pressing herself to Ethan a bit closer. His scent intoxicated her, like it always did.</p>
<p>“She apologized. The other man apologized too. And now- yeah.” He stopped when their patient took her engagement ring off her finger and extended it towards her now ex-fiancé. He nodded slowly, breathing shakily. “He thanked her for ending it before they got themselves into an unhappy marriage.”</p>
<p>They both watched as the man left the room. He turned around, only once, to look back at the part of his life that has just ended. After that, he went down the corridor and was gone.</p>
<p>Ethan and Claire watched the pair inside the room, now talking quietly. She wrapped her hand around Ethan’s arm, squeezing lightly before letting go.</p>
<p>“Come on, let’s give them some privacy.” She muttered, then continued down the hall, leaving Ethan to his own devices again.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>An hour later, Ethan found her in the locker room, both of their shifts now over. She looked at him when he cleared his throat to get her attention, giving him a small smile. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it.</p>
<p>“Claire-“</p>
<p>“Ethan-“</p>
<p>They started, then laughed; a first real laugh they shared these past two days. The tension was dissipating with every step they took towards each other, until it was completely gone with the embrace of his arms around her.</p>
<p>“I love you.” Ethan said slowly, looking straight into her eyes. She slipped her arms around him, pressing their bodies even closer.</p>
<p>“I love you too.” With a soft sigh, she pressed her lips to his jaw, nuzzling her nose against his neck when she leaned into him. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry too. I got carried away; it was never my intention.” He breathed in the scent of her perfume, voicing the thoughts that have been following him since they witnessed their patient’s situation. “I don’t want to lose you.”</p>
<p>“You’re not going to lose me. Fights happen, and they will happen again. But we’ll get through them.” she reassured him, leaning upwards to kiss him, but he shook his head.</p>
<p>“I don’t want to wake up one day and realize that I lost the one thing that mattered the most to me.”</p>
<p>“You <em>won’t</em>. Because I’m not going anywhere.”</p>
<p>Claire stood on the tips of her toes to press her lips to his. With each kiss, they fell deeper into each other, their emotions skyrocketing, leaving them bare.</p>
<p>“Marry me.” Ethan asked in between kisses, going back in with even more hunger and need for her than before. She leaned away, gathering his face into her hands to make him look at her.</p>
<p>“You already asked me. My answer will never change, Ethan.” She kissed him deeply, pulling away for a split second. “Yes. <em>Always yes</em>.”</p>
<p>“I mean now. Marry me now.” he clarified, pressing his back against the lockers and her against his body, looking down at her with intensity that knocked the air out of her lungs. “Let’s elope.”</p>
<p>Claire’s eyes widened in shock, her hands holding onto the sides of his neck gently. Ethan has never been a man to decide these kinds of important things in the heat of a moment. Everything had its course of events, nothing should go against the rules. Ever since they got into a more serious relationship, he started letting go of his restrictions, letting himself be more spontaneous and free. In that moment, however, he asked for something that even she wouldn’t think of.</p>
<p>“Ethan, you know we can’t do that. The date is already set, preparations have started-“</p>
<p>He interrupted her with a heated kiss, twisting them both so he could push her up against the lockers. She breathed in sharply, melting into him.</p>
<p>“Just a courthouse wedding. We’ll have the ceremony, the party and the whole shebang when the date comes. Including the best honeymoon you can possibly imagine.” He muttered against her lips, kissing her again. The corners of her lips went up slightly at the idea of having him all to herself for more than a day at the time. “I just really want to call you my wife already. I don’t think I can wait any longer.”</p>
<p>“But-“</p>
<p>Ethan grinned, leaning in, his voice dropping to a hot whisper. “We could buy the rings on our way home.”</p>
<p>“Pre-wedding rings.” Claire corrected him, the idea already making itself at home in her mind. She ran her fingers up and down the lapel of his jacket.</p>
<p>“We could dress up and be at the courthouse in an hour.” He continued, smiling wider at her. “We could be married <em>in an hour</em>.”</p>
<p>“Take me home and put that suit on so I can take it off when we’re back.” She panted, having heard enough of encouragement, pulling him towards the door by his jacket.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>They were in the car, pre-wedding rings sitting safely in his suit jacket, their hands intertwined, when Claire suddenly giggled, pressing her hand to her mouth to muffle it.</p>
<p>“What is it?” he asked, amused. She cleared her throat before responding, humor evident in her tone.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you used the word ‘shebang’. It’s definitely my influence, don’t get me wrong, but I’m still deciding if it’s a good or a bad one.”</p>
<p>“You’re definitely a bad influence.” He said, earning himself a playful pinch on the shoulder. “The <em>worst</em>.” He added, grinning at her fake offense.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>The courthouse is quiet when they exchange the vows, rings making their way onto their fingers only seconds later. The bands caught the bright lights in the room, sparkling with enough power to make them noticeable.</p>
<p>Ethan’s hands held her face gently, like he was afraid he’d break her if he used more force; afraid he’d break the most precious thing that’s his.</p>
<p>“I love you.” he muttered, his eyes registering every single golden speck in her eyes. Claire rose to the tips of her toes, making their faces a bit more level.</p>
<p>“I love you.”</p>
<p>Their lips meet in the slowest and softest kiss they ever shared, everything around them falling into nothingness. The officiant smiles when Ethan dips Claire suddenly, who shrieked at the unexpected movement. When the kiss breaks, they stare into each other’s eyes for a long moment, tracing each other’s features with their fingers tenderly. From now on, it would always be them against it all, together.</p>
<p>The moment they are out of the courthouse, the document tucked safely into Claire’s purse, they start running towards the car, laughing like a pair of fools in love that they were. Ethan twirled her in his arms, pressing her against the side of his car so he could kiss her freely.</p>
<p>“It’s the most spontaneous decision of my life, Mrs. Ramsey.” He mused, kissing her again, and then again, unable to get enough to her. Claire tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling on it gently. “And the best one I’ve ever made.”</p>
<p>“Let’s go home.” She whispered, searching for the doorhandle blindly.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>The meticulously put-on suit gets thrown to the ground mere moments after they step into their bedroom. Her dress follows, as does every other article of clothing that was between them.</p>
<p>Ethan gathered her into his arms, putting her down on the bed and climbing on top of her. It felt different than any other time they did this; the air was softer, the atmosphere gentler. Their every move was coming from a place of love, slow and tender at first, then more purposeful when they steadily climbed towards the climax, pulling sounds from each other that would ring in their ears for weeks to come. They made love until they couldn’t take the tension anymore, falling off their high and pushing the other to do the same.</p>
<p>At last, their bodies hit the mattress, arms around one another to not let even a fraction of empty space appear between them. Claire’s fingers ran up and down his chest, her engagement and pre-wedding rings catching the light.</p>
<p>“You know that our families and friends are going to murder us when we tell them, right?” she joked, scraping his skin with her nails gently. Ethan caught her hand, pressing it right over his heart and keeping it there.</p>
<p>“Who said anything about telling them?” he shrugged, leaning down to hover his lips right over hers. “Maybe I want my wife all to myself for a while.”</p>
<p>“And you really think that you’ll be able to keep your hands off me now that I’m your wife more than before? Ethan, you couldn’t wait for the set date to marry me. I love you, babe, but I have to call you out on your bullshit. Keeps you grounded, you know?” grinning and clearly proud of herself, she pecked his lips once, then fell onto the pillows with a happy sigh.</p>
<p>“I guess we’ll just have to see which one of us breaks first, then.”</p>
<p>Ethan was ready to fall asleep when he heard her voice again.</p>
<p>“It’s so gonna be you.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think so, Mrs. Ramsey.”</p>
<p>“Oh, but I <em>know</em> so, Mr. Ramsey.”</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>They didn’t have to wait long to find out which one of them was right. Just two days later, Dr. Ethan Ramsey walked into the hospital, stopping by the nurse’s station to pick up the charts for the day, when an intern approached him. Interns were usually annoying in Ethan’s opinion, but it was in that moment that he decided that he hated them.</p>
<p>It wasn’t intern’s fault that usually so put-together Dr. Ramsey forgot to take off his pre-wedding band and the intern noticed. It also wasn’t their fault that the other Dr. Ramsey was right behind them, grinning from ear to ear when it turned out that she was, in fact, right.</p>
<p>“I give it twenty minutes.” She grinned, wrapping her arms around Ethan’s neck. He pressed his hand to the small of her back.</p>
<p>“Until what?”</p>
<p>“Until we’re murdered for getting married in secret.”</p>
<p>“Still the best damn decision of my life.”</p>
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